Phototransistors Utilizing Printed Carbon Quantum Material

该项目将研究结合碳基量子材料和廉价环保印刷技术优势的光电探测器。光电探测器用于日常生活、工业、安全、通信和空间的许多方面。然而，量子器件通常以非常小的数量制造。对于实际应用来说，大量生产它们是很重要的，这样我们就可以在宏观尺度上利用它们的一维特性。可打印的柔性和混合电子（FHE）通过实现无处不在的电子产品的低成本制造，例如柔性塑料基板上的传感器系统，可以使加拿大人的日常生活受益。该研究项目将重点研究具有碳纳米管/聚合物混合通道的光电晶体管，利用喷墨打印作为可扩展的图像化薄膜沉积技术。碳纳米管是一种一维量子材料，其中电子受到限制。在这些光电探测器的通道中有碳纳米管和聚合物，聚合物吸收光子并将其转化为电荷，碳纳米管将电荷传输到终端。我们将研究干燥过程中印刷膜形态和碳纳米管排列对混合界面和光电晶体管性能的影响。我们的假设是碳纳米管排列会影响光生载流子的输运和碳纳米管/聚合物界面上潜在的电荷转移。该项目由德国卡尔斯鲁厄理工学院（KIT）和加拿大约克大学的研究人员合作完成。该项目将分两个阶段进行，仅在德国进行通道材料溶液加工的光电晶体管的制造和光电学表征，并在加拿大制造完全溶液加工的光电晶体管。我们相信，这个项目将是德国和加拿大更大规模合作的第一步，这将增加加拿大FHE行业在科技成果和学生培训方面利用量子材料制造电子产品的能力。

This project will study photodetectors that combine the advantages of carbon-based quantum materials and inexpensive and environmentally friendly printing techniques. Photodetectors are used in many aspects of everyday life, industry, safety and security, communication and space. However, quantum devices are often fabricated in very small quantities. It is important for real-life applications to produce them in larger quantities so that we can use their 1D properties on a macroscopic scale. Printable flexible and hybrid electronics (FHE) can benefit the everyday life of Canadians by enabling the low-cost manufacturing of ubiquitous electronics, for example, sensor systems on flexible plastic substrates. This research project will focus on studying phototransistors with a carbon nanotube (CNT)/ polymer blend channel utilizing inkjet printing as a scalable, patterned thin-film deposition technique. CNTs are a one-dimensional quantum material where electrons are confined. With CNTs and polymers in the channel of these photodetectors, the polymer absorbs the photons and converts them into electrical charges, and the CNTs transport charges to the terminals. We will study the effect of printed film morphology and CNT alignment during drying on the blend interfaces and phototransistor performance. Our hypothesis is that the CNT alignment will affect the transport of the photogenerated carriers and potentially charge transfer at the CNT/polymer interface. The project is a collaboration between researchers in Germany at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Canada at York University. The project will be carried out in two phases, fabricate and optoelectronically characterize phototransistors with only the channel material being solution-processed in Germany, and fabricate fully solution-processed phototransistors in Canada. We believe that this project will be the first step in a larger German-Canadian collaboration, which will add to the capacity of the Canadian FHE industry to utilize quantum materials for the manufacturing of electronics in terms of scientific and technological results and student training.